The not so simple scandals of a rose
by LilsurferSango
Summary: Sydney receives a red rose one night and soon learns that a simple display of affection can lead to scandals that will break apart friendships and cause people to reevaluate their loyalties.
1. Forbidden love in the making

**Title:** The not-so-simple scandals of a rose  
**Author:** Lilspy (sd-1), LilsurferSango I can only dream of owning Alias.  
**Summary**:Prequel to Chasing Destiny (which is a prequel to Angel's Legacy) Sydney receives a red rose one night and soon learns that a simple display of affection can lead to scandals that will break apart friendships and cause people to reevaluate their loyalties.

**Chapter 1-Forbidden love in the making**

---Sydney's POV---  
I closed and locked the door to my house. Weiss had retired to his house a few hours earlier. I walked through the living room, I walked through the living room in darkness as I hard grown accustomed to the location of every item in this house. I had taken Weiss out bowling. He had apparently never been bowling. After we finished bowling I dropped him off at his house and preceded to drive around for hours, not quite sure where I wanted to go. After hours of wasting gas I retreated back home to where I currently found myself. I walked slowly to my bedroom and pressed the play button on my answering machine button.

"Hello? Sydney? I know you're not home right now. This is your friend, Johanna, remember the other day when you told me to call you once I had made a decision. That friend of yours, Eric, sounds interesting. So, my answer is yes, I'd love to go out with him. I gotta go, later." the machine played. "end of first message."

I could hear the machine beep as told me that that was the end of all my messages.

_One message, and that was concerning my best friend, that's pathetic._ I mentally chastised myself.

I was changing, getting ready to take a shower before going to bed, when suddenly I stopped as the machine played the familiar response when someone was leaving a message. I waited patiently for them to leave their message.

"Hello Miss Bristow. It's a shame you wont pick up the phone seeing as how you're currently occupying your house. It's a great location, being so close to the beach. Which reminds me, go outside. You might like what you see." With that Sark hung up whatever phone he was on as the message ended.

My spy training told me that he was trying to set me up. It chilled me to think he knew my whereabouts. Although, it was understandable. In this line or work people could read the time displayed on your watch from abroad. They knew what you were thinking, where you had been, where you lived, and your likes and dislikes. I decided that after I took a bath and was in a pajamas that I would go investigate what was outside.

---30 minutes later---  
I dried my hair with a towel after I had changed into blue silky pajamas. It had long pants that came with it, with absolutely no design on either the top or the bottom. I slipped on blue slippers and proceeded to exit the house. I unlocked and opened the house, staring at the night sky. Since it was LA, I couldn't see the stars, but I enjoyed doing this anyways. I looked left and right, standing in the doorway. With the next step I took I jumped back in slight pain. I glanced down, but failed to see anything. I took a few steps back and turned on the porch light. I walked back outside and stared at the object that had slightly pricked me.

_You've got to be kidding me. Vaughn?_ I suspected, staring down at the most beautiful red rose I had ever seen. I picked it up, gently, not wanting to destroy it. A note was attached to it in red ink. The words "Tell me princess, now when did you last let your heart decide?" were written on it.

"A whole new world." I spoke aloud, confused as to who would have sent this. _A whole new world, Jasmine, Aladdin, could this be referring to a mission I had come from days earlier. We had went to Disney World in a mission after dark where some guy had hidden information on a disk on a stand. Other information lay hidden all over the amusement park. It had been a great hiding place, it would be one of the last places someone would have thought to have looked. I had went on the mission with Weiss, although we recovered some of the information, Sark had been there or course, and he made off with the rest of it. So it had to be from either Weiss or Sark. But why would either of them send me this note? And what is it referring to? In the song Aladdin was referring to where she desired to go and with who. But, it couldn't have been Weiss, I had told Weiss about Johanna and he seemed excited to meet her. Sark? With Sark it could mean anything. That confusing bastard always had things up his sleeve. Why did I just waste my time thinking that over? Sark had left me the call to come fetch the rose. Knowing Sark though, it's probably laced with something to knock me unconscious. _

However, despite what I tried to force myself to believe, I couldn't help but smile at the thought of Sark thinking about me. Knowing what I really wanted deep down inside. I closed and locked my door, still smiling.

---Sark's POV---  
I smiled as I watched Sydney disappear inside the house. _I knew curiosity would get the better of her. And seeing as how she should have figured out who gave it to her and she hasn't thrown in on the ground, stomping on it before laughing I think that's a good sign. _I turned on my car and drove away.

A/N: Comments? No review no update; as simple as that.


	2. Trouble at the office

**Disclaimer:** I can only dream of owning Alias  
**A/N:** Thanks so much for the reviews!

**Chapter 2 Trouble at the office**

---Sydney's POV---  
I parked my car in the car parking lot on my way to a briefing. When I had pulled into a convenient spot I turned off the ignition after making sure I had parked straight. I pulled the keys out, my mind still on last night. It wasn't like Sark to send flowers to his enemies. _Was he changing?_ I wondered, locking my car. It didn't matter. CIA security was incredible. Most agents left their cars unlocked, but with my history of people lying and deceiving me, I was still careful not to let my car be the victim of grand theft auto. I walked away from my car, the sound of my heels clicking on the ground. I was dressed in an appropriate suit with heels to finish off the outfit. My hair was down, unlike days when I laid around the house or jogged.

"Hey Sydney." someone greeted.

I whirled around quickly finding myself face to face with someone I didn't know if I should be happy or annoyed to see.

"Hello Vaughn, have a nice night?" I asked politely. Maybe I had asked too politely.

At the mention of this Vaughn turned a little red. "Look, Syd, I gotta talk to about something. I care about you a lot and I think it's been long enough for both of us; I mean we both knew it was inevitable. We both knew it was coming…" he trailed off. Vaughn grabbed my head and pulled me in for a kiss. _We used to be perfect for each other, so why do I feel absolutely nothing?_ I asked myself. _Because, he's not the one you want. He's not the one you need. He no longer makes you happy._ I pulled away from the kiss and stared into Vaughn's eyes. I had to tell him.

"Vaughn." I started staring into his eyes. I found confusion and desire in those eyes I once found to be beautiful and perfect. "If you care about me… please, just…" I stumbled along not quite sure how to state this. We still worked together and I didn't need another enemy. I wanted to tell him without it causing him to hate me.

Fortunately for me, Vaughn could read in between the lines. "There's someone else, isn't there?"

I continued to stare into his now cold and questioning eyes. "Yes, no… I don't know."

"You don't know?" Vaughn demanded an answer.

"Look, you were right when you said time has passed." I started, tears staring to build. "Maybe too much time. The time of you and me; it's over. I'm over… you. I just, if you care about me, I need you to understand that. It doesn't matter if I'm dating someone else. I care about you Vaughn, I really do. But I don't care about you in the way anymore. You were _always_ there for me after Danny's death and you always seemed to understand; I need you to understand now Vaughn. Tell me you understand. Tell me we can still be friends."

Vaughn stared at me coldly, crossing his arms. "Who is he, _Sydney_?" he asked, spitting out my name in a harsh manner.

"Can we still be friends?" I asked in a persistent manner.

"Well, I don't know, I guess that depends upon who you're leaving me for." Vaughn informed me.

"Who I'm leaving you for?" I yelled angrily. We haven't dated each other for years. So don't sit here and try to tell me, you'll only be here for me if I compromise everything that makes me happy and date you. Go to hell you jackass."

With that I spun around and headed to the meeting. I no longer cared if I had his friendship or not, it was not worth compromising my happiness. It took me a few minutes to reach the conference room and when I did, I slammed the door shut once inside.

Dixon shot me a look of disapproval and concern. Mostly disapproval however.

"Agent Bristow, not only are you late for this briefing, but your attitude is _not_ helping the matter." Dixon spat out in a no-nonsense tone.

_Great, and now I'm late._ "Perfect!" I yelled out unknowingly.

"Agent Bristow!" Dixon yelled arrestingly. "Control yourself before I am forced to take action regarding your unusual and _inappropriate_ behavior."

I could see the concern rising in Dixon's eyes, but I knew that his primary obligation was being Director rather than a friend. His job might be in jeopardy if he revered that order.

"I'm sorry Director Dixon." I apologized, taking my seat, addressing him formally.

The door opened soon afterwards with a calm Vaughn behind it.

"Agent Vaughn, are you aware that you are late for a briefing?" Dixon asked Vaughn.

"Yes, I am aware of that. I would have been on time, but I was delayed from arriving here by Agent Bristow." Vaughn enlightened Dixon.

"Agent Bristow, is that true?" Dixon asked.

"I'm afraid that what he said, is in fact _reversed_, I was delayed by Agent Vaughn." I told him the real truth.

"I'm afraid my answer, is the correct one." Vaughn persisted.

"He came up to me first." I argued.

"Liar liar pants on fire!" Vaughn yelled.

"Enough!" Dixon yelled. "I want to see you and you in my office, _right now_!" He pointed a finger at myself and then at Vaughn. I stood up from the desk and walked out, glaring at the back of Vaughn's head.

Dixon reached his office first and opened the door, holding it open as both Vaughn and I passed though. He slammed it in a hurry, walking over to his desk.

"Sit." he ordered before Vaughn and I hurriedly took a seat on the other side of his desk. "Are you both aware that not only were you both late, but you both insisted that the other was responsible for it. Which means that one of you lied."

"I know, Vaughn lied." I insisted.

"Agent Bristow, contain yourself." Dixon ordered. "Let me finish. Which caused the meeting to be interrupted more than once, and had you both acting like adolescent little brats!"

"Dixon," I started, glaring at Vaughn. "I'm so sorry for what Vaughn did."

"What, Sydney means is that _she_ is responsible. Vaughn argued.

"I can't take this. Since we have no way of proving who is correct and both seem insistent to continue to bring this subject up, I have no other choice but to suspend you both for 2 weeks. If you argue, I'll make it leave without pay for 1 month. Now get out of my office. And I suggest, if you don't want that month without pay, that you take different routes to your cars. Now get out of my office. _Now_!"

I stood up quickly and pushed in the chair, not even bothering to look at either one of them. I exited out of the room and headed for my car.

It took me longer than necessary to arrive at my house. However, after stopping at Subway, I drove around, up and down different streets until I had calmed down. Then, being LA, it took me awhile to get back onto the right streets after driving through freeways.

---Sark's POV---  
I was leaning over the bed intent on leaving another present when I heard the front door opened. _Sydney's not supposed to be home yet._ I reminded myself, drawing out my gun. I had just placed my hand on the doorknob when I realized something. The intruder was wearing high heels. _What burglar/mugger outside of Chelsea wears high heels?_ I realized that for some odd reason Sydney must have come home sooner. I went back to retrieve the present when I heard the doorknob turning. I sat on the bed, crossing my arms, appearing as if I hadn't just broke into her house.

---Sydney's POV---  
_That's odd, I didn't leave my door closed when I left._ I reminded myself. Instantly I reached for my gun. That's when I remembered. Dixon had had security take away our weapons. I just had to rely on my hand to hand combat training. When the door swung open, I found Sark laying on my bed, looking as if nothing was wrong.

"What are you doing here?" I demanded.

"Cute outfit. That whole business thing works for you." Sark complimented. "By the way, thanks for not throwing out my present." Sark pointed to the rose in a beautiful clear vase by the side of my bed.

_I knew I should have thrown it away. _I thought angrily.

"I mean, I knew you were going to keep it, but I didn't know you'd put it beside your bed. I mean, if I didn't know you better I'd say you fancied me." Sark told me, smiling.

I hadn't intended to, but the truth began to spill form my lips. "I only keep it by my bed because in this business it takes away your happiness."

"And, I make you happy?" Sark questioned, his smirk coming back.

"No", I lied. "I keep it beside my bed because the thought that think that a relationship between you and me could work out makes me laugh."

I watched the smirk disappear form Sark's face. It was replaced by sadness and disappointment. Realizing his blank expression was replaced by actually emotion, Sark quickly replaced it with his smirk. "Is that what you think? That I fancy you? In your dreams and fantasies Miss Bristow. I just did t because I was bored."

I couldn't tell if he was lying or not.

"What's the matter Miss Bristow? Can't tell if I'm telling the truth anymore? Hey, while you're on your way to losing your touch, could you pick me up an apple?" he requested.

Unsure if I should respond I spun on my heel and departed from the room. I walked to the kitchen and picked up a luscious green apple and stomped back to my room. I threw the apple at him and screamed, "Get out! I don't have time for this. I'm busy."

"Busy doing what? Being alone?" Sark retorted.

I stood quiet as I stared at him. It dawned on him my answer and his gazed shifted to the ground. He promptly changed the subject.

"Thanks for the room service. I think I'll come back. The service is great and the maid's are hot." he joked.

I sat on the bed, staring at the rose. "Hey Sark, thanks."

"Uh oh, better make sure this isn't a trap, she's thanking me for something." Sark joked.

"No, I'm serious. Thanks for the rose. It's really beautiful." I complemented his taste.

Sark muttered something I couldn't hear, but I refused to ask him to repeat it. "So, what has you in such a joyful mood today?" Sark asked sarcastically.

"Vaughn, he, uh, stopped me to talk and then, things happened, words were said, or actually yelled. I was late to a meeting, Vaughn and I got into an argument in front of everyone, Dixon got mad, and so now, he and I have 2 weeks of free time. So, what's new with you?" I explained. I didn't even know why I was telling all of this to him.

Sark took a bite out of is green apple, staring at me while soaking in all this new information. After swallowing what he had in his mouth Sark smirked, "Seems like Prince Charming was an ass."

"You know, if you would have told me a few weeks ago that I would be sitting In my house, having a conversation with _you_, I would have said that you needed a cat scan. Maybe I'm the one who needs a cat scan because this, it feels great." I laughed and then my face morphed into a serious and pained expression. "Sark, do you really think I'm destined to be alone?"

Sark seemed to be thinking of when he had made that comment, but shrugged it off. "Of course not, you're a great person. It just takes awhile to realize who you were supposed to be with. I mean, for all you know you were meant to be with some cool homeless person." Sark scooted over, extending his arm around my waist, pulling me to him. I leaned over, resting my head on his shoulder.

"Thanks. You know when you're not being cocky, you're actually a pretty cool person." I complimented.

"You're just realizing that?" Sark joked.

"You know, sometimes I just, want to leave this life behind. Go somewhere else, but then, it's like I have to be here, out of obligation. Help save them form some invisible force of evil over and over again. And every time I lose a little bit more of myself. To help them." I admitted.

"Tell me princess, now when did you last let your heart decide?" Sark whispered into my ear.

I lifted my head off his shoulder and stared into his eyes finally understand what he meant. "Now." I murmured leaning in to kiss Sark.

**A/N:** Comments? No review to update; simple as that.


	3. No Place I'd Rather Be

**Disclaimer: **I can only dream of owning Alias  
**A/N: **Enjoy! If you don't like the chapter, oh well. Remember, it's only PG-13, folks. I updated earlyonly because I might not update this weekend on account of my Military Ball being this weekend.

**Chapter 3- No place I'd rather be**

---2 weeks later---

---Sydney's POV---  
I stepped out of the house and glanced over at Weiss's house. I began to tap my foot as I waited impatiently for him to come out of his house. I hadn't seen him all week and he had agreed to drive together to work and discuss my side of the story about what happened 2 weeks ago. I wasn't as angry at Vaughn. I watched as the door to his house opened and a smiling Weiss with his arm around Johanna's waist came out of it.  
I adopted Sark's smirk and watched as Johanna gave Weiss a kiss and drove away. I paused before walking up to a smiling Weiss.

I smirked reciting a familiar friendship oath. "Oath number 3, when you smile, I'll know you finally got laid."

Weiss laughed at this. "Hey, have I thanked you enough times for setting us up?"

"You know what? Now that I think about it, I could always hear it another time." I laughed heading for the car. I waited for him to unlock the doors before I climbed in, waiting for the car to start before I began my explanation. "I was walking to the briefing when Vaughn came up behind me and was all, 'Hi Sydney', so I thought he was just making conversation. When I tried to be polite he started making this speech about how he cares about me and how it's been long enough. And when he kissed me, I felt, absolutely nothing. If I didn't know it then I knew at that moment that he wasn't the one I wanted and he wouldn't make me happy. I tried to tell him that if he cared about me then he would want me to be happy. He asked if there was someone else and I told him I didn't know. Then he became pissed asking how I could not know if there was someone else. I told him that I agreed that time has passed; that maybe too much time had passed. I informed him that I was over him and if he cared about me then he should understand how it didn't matter if there was someone. I tried to make him understand that I did care about him, just not in that way. I told him I needed to be there for me; that he needed to understand. I asked him if we could still be friends , but he kept asking how was the other guy. So I continued to ask if we could still be friends , but again he persisted that it depends on who I was leaving him for. Of course, I got angry at this statement. I mean, Vaughn and I had broken up years ago, why did he still act as if it were just yesterday? I accused him of only being happy if I compromised everything that made me happy. I told him to go to hell and I believe I called him a jackass. I stormed off and headed to the meeting. You know what happened up until the point where we left the room. Of course, Dixon was furious with us."

Weiss seemed surprised by what had really happened versus the rumors spreading around the office.

"That's not all." I warned him, as I told him the rest including what had happened with Sark .

"So, was Sark just toying and then later comforting you or do you think he might actually have feelings for you?" Weiss asked me.

"I don't know. I used to be able to read between the lines, but lately I don't know where one line ends and the other begins. I just, I wish people would be honest with me." I confessed, staring out the window. "I was dreading seeing Vaughn today, but I talked to Sark and now I don't really care if Vaughn's there."

"Really?" Weiss asked, pulling into the CIA parking lot.

"Really really." I answered. "You know, sometimes I envy Rambaldi, because he could see the future. I really wish I could borrow that, even for just a minute. Just to clear my head."

"I hear that. Hey, what do you say to you, Sark, Johanna, and I going drinking tonight? Your treat." Weiss offered.

"Wow, I get the honor of paying for everyone's drinks." I laughed. "But, you know what? That sounds like fun."

"Well, I'm not going to argue with that." Weiss laughed, as he parked the car.

I opened the door after the engine shut off and waited to Weiss to hurry up and park the car.

---In the office---  
"Welcome back Agents Bristow and Vaughn." Dixon greeted as we made our way back into the office. I sat down next to Weiss, who took his seat next to Marshall.

"Hey, Syd, we , uh, we made a welcome back card for you, I, I thought you'd like it, I mean, I, it was my idea, not that I can take all the credit for it, Weiss and everyone helped also. We weren't sure if you wanted a card or a gift certificate, but cards make me smile; so I suggest making a card; not that gift certificates don't make you smile I mean, hey it's free money. Not that we're cheap or anything, I just, not like we have a colossal amount of money, well, we hope you like it." Marshall stumbled along.

I smiled as Weiss handed me the card. "Thank you everyone." I thanked.

"And Vaughn, you were not forgotten, I mean, well at first, but that doesn't really mean anything. We didn't want to give you guys the same gift, I've gotten the same gifts before and its kinda awkward thanking people because it just makes you think they gave their money to one person who repeatedly bought the same thing, so we bought you something yummy. Yummy, that's a weird word, but yet it describes a lot of things. Ya, so we really hope you like it, well I really hope you like it, not that everyone doesn't really hope, we're all pretty much hoping you don't throw our gifts away. Except you Vaughn, well we don't want you to throw it away, but eventually you'll have to. I mean, not right away of course, It'll make sense as soon as we give you your gift." Marshall tried to explain as he handed Vaughn a box of Girl Scout Cookies. "We, or actually I thought it'd go great because you know how your codename is boy scout, well boy scouts don't really sell cookies or anything so we got you girl scout cookies. Same difference I hope. Well enjoy!"

Vaughn looked as if he were going to hand the cookies to the nearest little girl after he left the building, but forced a smile anyways. "Thank you, but I think Syd would enjoy these cookies so much more."

"No thanks, I've got a personalized card. I'm good." I told him, looking over the card. It really was great, it was funny and had pictures of everyone. Of course, some pictures were candid and others were not the best pictures of them, but they were hilarious.

"Ok, now that that's done, let's get down to business…" Dixon started.

---Hours later---  
I opened the door to my house, closing and locking it behind me. I was headed for the phone to call Sark and ask if he could join us at the bar. I really didn't feel like going if he wasn't and thus forcing me to be the 3rd wheel. I picked up the phone and dialed his number.

"Hello?" he greeted.

"Hey, Weiss wants to know if you wanna come with us to go drinking." I told him, sitting on my couch.

"You and Weiss are going drinking?" he asked.

"And Johanna." I enlightened him.

"So, that would make you the 3rd wheel. So, basically, what your asking is 'Please come drinking with us so that I don't have to be the 3rd wheel'?" Sark interpreted.

"Hey, you said it not me." I reminded him.

His end of the phone lay silent for a few seconds before he told me that he would come with us. I smiled as I waited for him to arrive so that we could meet up with Weiss and Jojo (Johanna).

---At the bar---  
"So, what do you think is better? American or imported?" I asked stumbling over to Sark.  
Sark and Weiss were currently playing a game of pool while Jojo and I watched them.  
I was sitting on a bar stool and somewhere between the time Sark's turn and Weiss's I tumbled off the stool.  
"Whoa, what was that?" I started laughing as I attempted to climb back up. "So, who's wining?"  
"That's it." Sark muttered, walking over to me. "Weiss, she'll see you guys tomorrow. We're leaving before she gets anymore tipsy."  
"Ok, have fun tonight!" Jojo yelled laughing.  
I sat on the driver's side of the car, watching Sark drive. "Are you mad?"  
He just stared at me, shaking his head, as he pulled into my driveway. Sark helped me into my house, locking the door behind him. He walked me to my room muttering something about how Americans can't hold their liquor. I sat on my bed, cocking my head to one side.

---Sark's POV---

"What?" I asked.

"You're cute when you're concerned." she complimented. She walked over to me and kissed me on the lips, before her tongue traced my lips, begging for entrance. I parted my lips, complying as I peeled of her suit jacket.

-------Later------

---Sark's POV---  
I moved to cover us with the cover before I lay there beside her holding her in my arms.

Sydney lay in my arms under the covers smiling at me.  
I smiled at her, staring intently in her eyes.  
"What?" she asked. "What is it."  
"I told you." I answered, running my hand through her hair. "It was our destiny to work together, just as it was our destiny to be together… you're my destiny." I whispered. "What's wrong?"  
"I gotta throw up." she warned stumbling over to the bathroom. I heard her flush the toilet and then wash her hands. She hurried under the covers where I began laughing.  
"What?" she asked.  
"Blowing chunks after we've just made love?" I started, "Real sexy."  
"Shut up." she mumbled, closing her eyes. She opened them a moment later and stared intently into mine. "I love you."  
"I love you more." I whispered in her ear. I continued stroking her hair as she smiled before closing her eyes to sleep and knew that there was no other place I'd rather be.

**A/N: **Comments? No review, no update; as simple as that.


	4. The repercussions of living a lie

**Disclaimer: **I can only dream of owning Alias.  
**A/N: **The story continues… thanks so much for reading this story! I just had to update again because this is one of my favorite chapters!

**Chapter 4- The repercussions of living a lie **

---Sydney's POV---  
I awoke later than usual, running my hand through my hair. I turned over to find the other side of the bed cold and empty. I groaned, remembering just how much I hated hangovers. My head wouldn't stop it's throbbing. I sighed, as I decide that I would look for Sark after taking a shower.

After I had showered and changed into my work clothes, my plans had already changed. I opened the door and head for the kitchen looking for something to eat when I spotted a drink on the table with a note that instructed me to drink it. I made an annoyed face as I prepared for the horrible taste of it sliding down my throat. I drank it quickly, knowing from experience as a child drinking cold medicine that the quicker you downed it, the less you tasted it. I knew it would take a few minutes to kick in, so I sat down in the living room and waited for it to do it's job. Within a few minutes as I had predicted, the throbbing stopped and I felt better. I got off the maroon colored sofa and prepared to look for Sark. Although I believed he might have left, judging form the fact that he had left me a note. I stopped halfway through my exit of the room when I heard a bell.

"Was that from my head or is that the doorbell?" I asked myself. I decided I'd better go check. Opening the door, I was surprised to find my father standing before me.

"Hey dad." I greeted, running a hand through my hair.

"Are you ok?" he asked worriedly.

"Yeah, I'm fine. So, what's with the visit?" I questioned.

"I'm worried about you." Jack informed me.

"Dad, I'm a big girl, I can take care of myself. I'm fine." I reassured him.

"That's just the thing. I _don't_ think your ok. If you were you would have moved on by now. Sydney, it's been years since you two broke up and since then you haven't had a stable relationship. Sure, you've dated, but Sydney you need to stop holding on to him." Jack persisted.

"But, dad," I began, in almost a whine. "I _have_ moved on. I'm _over_ him. You have nothing to worry about."

"With who? Sydney I am doing this for your own good." he persevered.

"Doing what for my own good?" I questioned.

"I have set you up with a man named Seamus (Shay-mus) Conner. You _will_ go out with him, and you _will _have a good time." Jack continued.

"Oh, so what? Now I need my daddy to set up dates for me?" I inquired.

"No, I'm just, helping you get back on the horse." Jack persisted.

"Helping me? I am galloping on the horse. I don't need your help." I continued.

"Sydney!" Jack yelled angrily.

"Look, I'm sorry It's just so early in the morning and it's embarrassing having your father set you up on a date. I'll go out with this Seamus guy. Ok?" I lied, acquiescing.

"It's ok, I know how we Bristows are, stubborn. I just, want to see you happy." dad finished, giving me a hug. "See you at work."

"Ok, bye dad love you!" I yelled as he walked towards his car.

He replied to this statement, but I failed to hear what he said.

I closed the door, leaning up against it. "How am I going to get out of this?"

--- At the office---  
I sat down in the set next to Marshall as I awaited Dixon's arrival. Vaughn sat on the other side directly across from me with 2 agents I had never seen before sitting next to him. Weiss sat on the other side of me which left a seat open for Dixon to occupy.

As soon as Dixon strolled into the room, all conversation stopped.

"Good morning ladies and gentlemen. As you know, I am Marcus Dixon. It has come to our attention that Arvin Sloane is training young adults- teenagers, mostly- to retrieve Rambaldi artifacts and information regarding them. It is easier to be undetected if you have a fresh face and are new to this life style. It'll make it harder to decide who's the civilian and that's exactly what he wants. We are awaiting the coordinates of his training camp. Once we receive them, you are to go there and shut it down. If he was attempting to brainwash the kids and they haven't done anything then they will get off scotch free, but if they have, they might have to go to trial. Which by then, of course, it'll no longer be our problem." Dixon enlightened us.

"So wait, these kids get brainwashed by Arvin Sloane and now they may have to do Juvvie or jail time for it? How is that in the least bit fair?" I questioned.

"It is not our decision to decide if it's fair and you know that!" Dixon argued.

"If those kids were brainwashed then they had no control over what they were doing." I persisted.

"First of all, we only assume that they have been brainwashed, since he's recruiting so many. But that isn't a fact. They could have joined on their own and known perfectly well what they were doing. And I must say, your behavior as of late is surprising and inappropriate. If something is wrong then go see Barnett, if not, I suggest you keep your opinions to yourself. Is that understood?" Dixon persisted.

"Yes sir." I answered.

"Ok, we should receive this information later on this week. Hopefully by tomorrow, but that's not likely…" Dixon started.

---Later on that night---  
I walked into my bedroom, pulling off my jacket and dropping it onto my bed I pressed the play button on my petite and plain white answer answering machine.

"Hell? Miss Bristow? This is Seamus Conner calling. Ummm… it is my belief that we have a date tonight, but if you're not feeling well, it's ok; we can reschedule. If not, that's great. And it doesn't matter what you wear. Well, I look forward to seeing you tonight." With that the message ended and my machine informed me that I had another message. It gave me the specifics and I waited for the message to be played.

"Hey Sydney, It's Jack. Look, I hope I didn't force you to do this, it's just that, you need to go out. So, don't bail on this Seamus guy, he'll be good for you. I gotta go, bye." Wit that the message ended and the machine informed me that I had no more messages.

I groaned as I made my way to the shower to get ready for a date I didn't want to have.

---An hour later---  
I finished brushing my hair and deciding to leave it down. I was dressed in a silky red short-sleeved shirt with a short black skirt. wasn't sure if to wear high heels or platforms and at the last second I decided on platforms. I slipped on a simple gold necklace with a small question mark as it's pendant. It stood for a statement I had heard once from a girl who everyone always thought was paranoid. 'Question everything.' Every time I saw the pendant it made me question things and usually I found out the truth about things when I questioned them. I put on concealer, but besides that I refused to put on any more makeup. I pulled out a petite black purse from my closet and filled it with a phone, my wallet, and a crumpled piece of paper. I slipped on the purse onto my shoulder and waited for this Seamus guy to show up. 15 minutes after I heard the doorbell ring before I hurried across the house to answer the door. I opened the door and found myself staring at a guy about 5' 9'' or 6'. He had shaggy dirty blonde hair and was wearing a Hawaiian shirt and khaki shorts. He had pale blue eyes and a genuine smile.

"You've got to be either Sydney or a really sexy robber." Seamus greeted.

I smiled at this, grabbing the edges of my skirt, feeling uncomfortable. "Well, I'm not a robber."

"Then you must be Sydney, here these are for you." Seamus informed me, pulling out from behind him a bouquet of roses.

"They're really pretty." I complimented as I dashed inside to put them in a vase. The only 2 vases I had in my house were in my bedroom and one of them were currently occupied by Sark's rose. I came back as soon as I could, explaining that I put it in the only vase left in my house.

"You must get a lot of flowers then." he commented.

"No, I just… don't have a lot off vases." I informed him. I pocketed my keys in my purse and turned off the light as we made our way to his car. "Wow, I feel… really… overdressed."

"Well you shouldn't because you aren't. I mean, nowadays women can wear dressy clothes to anywhere on a date and she's ok. It's the guy that has all the pressure. I mean, it's not that easy deciding what to wear." he informed me as he opened my car door.

He had picked my up in his Gold Lexus.

"So, what do you d- where do you plan on taking me tonight?" I changed my question.

"Ah, but then that would ruin the surprise now wouldn't it?" hw questioned as we drove away form my house. We ended up driving to the pier where he insisted on blindfolding me, allowing me back into the car and driving off.

"So, you're going to leave me wondering?" I questioned.

"Yeah, but all you can do until we get there is use your imagination. The longer we drive the more suspenseful you get and suspense in itself can be thrilling." he informed me. "So, when's the last time you had some real fun?"

"Last Night." I answered.

"I'm sure you did." he commented, stopping the car. He placed earmuffs on my ears and moments later I was being gently pulled out of the car. I felt like I was walking on leaves. I knew after awhile that we were in a line from the constant moving and stopping that we did. I could feel the wind whipping up my hair indicating that we were outside. After what seemed like forever we started walking normally. It was then that Seamus pulled off the earmuffs. I could hear screaming and laughing. I could hear lots of people. He quickly pulled off my blindfold and I discovered that we were at the fair.

"Go wild. It's midnight madness." he informed me.

"Are you serious? I haven't been to the fair in so long! Thank you!" I thanked him, giving him a hug. I pulled him in the direction of the first ride I wanted to go on after noticing that I had an arm band so I could go on unlimited rides.

After going on countless rides I spotted the most adorable stuffed Penguin. Seamus saw my expression and told me that he would win it for me. Pulling out his wallet he paid the purveyor the money. He pulled out of gun from the holster and aimed it at the target. Several other people waited the vendor's announcement for them to start the game. As soon as he gave this, water sprouted from the ends of the guns and towards the targets. I watched as little monkeys made their way up the trees. Finally monkey number 7 had reached the top and Seamus could pick his prize. He tried to get the penguin, but he was informed that you needed to play a total of 3 games before you could pick from the big prizes. So instead he picked a small Pooh bear and handed it to me, I asked if he wanted to go on another game, but he stood rooted to that spot, determined to win me that penguin. After 2 more rounds the penguin was mine and we were headed off to buy cotton candy. He picked a small blue one for himself and a big fluffy pink one for myself. We sat down at on of the many picnic tables to eat them.

"So, did you think up of the idea of taking me here awhile ago or did you just thinking it up on the way to my house?" I asked taking a bite of my cotton candy.

"Well, I'd love to say that it was the later, but no, I thought it up awhile ago." he admitted, taking a bit of his. "Want a piece?"

"Sure." I agreed, taking a bite of his cotton candy. "So, how much did he tell you about me?"

"Well your name, and how you wanted to be a teacher, how your fiancé died when a burglar broke in, and how the road to being a teacher brought back too many memories so you quit. He told me that you like to read, and your likes and dislikes. He didn't tell me what you looked like, probably figured it was best I get attached to your personality first." he enlightened me.

"So, I suppose since you know about me that I should at least know more about you other than the way you look and what your name is." I informed him.

"Ok, you know my name, obviously, I'm 31, don't know if you know that or not, I have a dog named Pamela, because I got her when I was obsessed with Pamela Anderson. I uh, make most of my money form my investment in Real Estate, I'm currently a cook and I love it. I'm the crab, you know Cancer. I'm friendly, easy to talk to and get along with, I am obsessed with football and basketball, though baseball, not so much. I am freakishly great at golf although the game bores me, I love going to the movies, I can be sometimes difficult to understand and a little secretive. I only do that because I've been hurt before and I'm just trying not to be hurt again. But I am easily consoled. I'm honest, concerned about other's feelings, tactful, and I take pride in myself. To my knowledge I am not allergic to anything. And great, now you think I talk too much…" he trailed off.

I smiled. "And your considerate. No you don't talk to much, you're just… informative."

"Really?" he asked.

"Yeah…" I trailed off, spotting Weiss. I grabbed his hand and led him away from the picnic table. We walked on the grass as we made our way back to the rides and the multitudes of people. When the rides reappeared so did the dirt. The grass died down. I flinched inwardly as his hand went around my waist. I closed my eyes and hoped that Weiss wouldn't tell Sark about this. I didn't know how he would take it and I didn't want to jeopardize our relationship. I knew I should be honest, but I knew that there was strong possibility that he would take it the wrong way. For the rest of the date I felt uneasy, but tried my hardest not to show it. We drove in silence all the way back to my house. When he asked my if something was wrong I lied and told him I felt tired. To make my point, I curled up on the set and leaned against the glass. I felt the car come to a stop and decided that I was home. I heard a door open and soon after my door opened and I started to fall to the ground. Seamus caught me with a chuckle.

"See, that's why you've got to go to bed, sleepyhead." he joked, as we made our way to my house. We stopped in front of my door and he grinned at me.

"I had great time." I told him.

"You know what? So did I." he told me. He leaned forward to give me a kiss, but I pushed him away, smiling shyly.

"I don't kiss on the first date." I lied.

His face displayed a look of disappointment before he replaced it with a smile. "So, does that mean you'll go out with me again?"

I couldn't think of a logical reason to break it off and even if I could Jack would just set me up with someone else. "Sure." I smiled. "But, now, I've got to get some sleep."

"I'll call you." he informed. "And just in case you can't take the pressure of not talk to me in the length of time it takes me to call. Here is my phone number." he informed me, writing down his number on a sticky note and then on my hand.

"Ok, thanks, I wont loose it. Good night." I told him, walking into my house, closing and locking the door. I turned around and spotted Sark.

"Hey" I greeted as I went to hug him.  
Sark just stared at the door. "Who was that?"

**A/N:** Comments? No review no update; as simple as that.


	5. Choices

**Disclaimer:** I can only dream of owning Alias.  
**A/N: **Thanks for the great reviews! And the story continues…

**Previously** on The-not-so-simple scandals of a rose:

---Sydney's POV---

I'll call you." he informed. "And just in case you can't take the pressure of not talking to me in the length of time it takes me to call… here is my phone number." he informed me, writing down his number on a sticky note and then on my hand.

"Ok, thanks, I wont loose it. Good night." I told him, walking into my house, closing and locking the door. I turned around and spotted Sark.

"Hey" I greeted as I went to hug him.  
Sark just stared at the door. "Who was that?"

**Chapter 5- Choices**

---Sydney's POV---

"That guy? He was my date." I answered truthfully.

"And by date, I hope oddly enough you mean the fruit." Sark started.

"My dad set us up, he kept insisting that I needed to starting dating again." I explained. "I tried to tell him that I was fine, but, what was I supposed to have told him? That I was dating you?"

As soon as I had said it I wished I could take it back.

Sark seemed to take awhile soaking in all this new information. His face was expressionless and his body language revealed nothing that I knew of. He thrust his hands into the pocket of his jacket and I recognized that sign immediately. It meant he didn't want to talk to me, but I couldn't let him leave without hearing the whole story.

"Sark… say something, please." I pleaded, walking up to him. I wasn't sure if he wanted me to touch him, so I kept my hands away from him.

His eyes remained blank.

"Sark, I, I only did it to please my father, I didn't want to go on the date." I insisted. I extended my hand to lightly touch his jacket when Sark shrugged it off, taking 2 steps back.

"What do you want me to say?" he voice was gruff and unforgiving. "That my girlfriend's ashamed to be dating me?"

"Sark… that's not what I meant. You know as well as I do that if our relationship is revealed, the problems it would cause." I persevered.

"Why? Because it would no longer be convenient for you? You know what if you're in a relationship with someone who want to hide it?" Sark questioned.

"Sark, I said I was sorry. I, I, I started, frantically running my hand through my hair.

"I love you more than anything Sydney," Sark started. "But I can't be with you if you want to not only continually hide our relationship, but refuse to put me first. The _only_ person benefiting from this situation is you. Your friend's opinion about you doesn't change and you get to date me in private. Call me when you grow up."

With that Sark walked out of the house. I stared at the door in which he had departed from. As tears filled my eyes, I crumpled to the ground.

---The next day---

I sat in the Conference room awaiting news about our mission. I attempted to shake the thoughts of last night that kept floating through my head.

"What about you Agent Bristow?" Dixon asked me.

"Umm, what about me?" I asked stalling for time.

"Are you ok?" Dixon asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine." I answered.

"Never mind. There is a man named Yevgeny Checkov in Russia who has a Rambaldi artifact. Now the man has Sinophobia, which means he is afraid of Chinese or Chinese culture. Agent Bristow, you will use this against him if need be to retrieve either the artifact or the location of the artifact." Dixon enlightened us.

Weiss had went on a mission and had discovered some sort of second generation artifacts so we were going to find them all. Just when you thought you were done with the puzzle, you discover that there's a whole other section of it.

"Here, is where you will land. You will land in Kharkov. Now, Mr. Checkov is dips his sugar is the trading coffee so to speak. His wife, Panida (Pa-knee-da) Ch'in was born in the P'ing-liang, China. Her family then moved to Shanghai where she lived until she was an adult. She speaks Russian, Mandarin, and a little English. You will-" Dixon started.

"Wait a second.' I interrupted. "I thought Checkov was sinophobic?"

"He is." Dixon insisted.

"Well then why did he marry a Chinese woman?" I questioned.

"Good question. Panda is a mail order bride as a gift for him. She became one to raise money for her surviving family. She sends the money she makes from making and selling Carved Jade, Porcelain ware, Bronze art, painted paper scrolls, and P'I P'as, among other things in the trade business. It was Mrs. Ch'in Checkov herself that stumbled across the artifact. Of course she eventually decided that it was of no use to her and handed it over to her husband. She wears Japanese silk robes and has a Japanese screen painting in their house. They have a Japanese styled house, an eight-sided Pagoda and she wears a mask when she talks to him and when they do other "marriage customs." She is forbidden to show her Chinese custom around him, so she uses Japanese since it is the next best thing. Also, Mr. Checkov is obsessed with Japanese things. You will use this information to help you. As I was saying you will go to the tea party that they are having at their house in Ukraine. You, dressed in a Japanese styled outfit, will convince either Panida or her husband to let you walk around the house. When they leave you alone you will begin to search for the artifact. Now be quick, because Panida is funny about leaving people alone. She constantly walks around, to make sure that her guests are happy. Then you will return to the party for awhile before you depart. Questions?" Dixon informed us.

"Yes, why does Panida stay with him? He's scared of her and her heritage and she is forbidden to have anything related to the Chinese culture around him." I asked.

"Well, it's just the way she was raised I guess. In China they don't raise you to off and leave your husbands as often as we do in America." Dixon reasoned. "You leave in an hour, dismissed."

---Hours later---

We finally arrived in Russia and I was in the bathroom, applying makeup to my face. I was wearing socks and sandals with a traditional Japanese outfit, with the umbrella and everything. I had the red sash tied around my waist with the bow in the back and a rd outfit accented with designs on it. I had the umbrella in one hand. My hair was up in color hairpins as was tradition. I walked outside and awaited Weiss's presence. He was there to keep Panida and everyone else, away form me. He was dressed in a Kimono and sandals. He had a few white flowers on his outfit.

I sucked in my breath as I saw this whispering to Weiss that in China, white was the color for death. He was going to ask why I even brought this up when he remembered Panida.

"Whoops" he whispered as we began our trip to their house. We were not out of place since many people had walked by, going to their party, dressed similar to us.

When we got their we noticed at just how elegant and pretty their house was. The Japanese culture was heavily inflicted upon the Japanese styled house. The only thing out of place was that people were speaking Russia since Mr. Checkov was the only person here who spoke Japanese.

Panida bowed in greeting. In sync Weiss and I returned her bow.

"Welcome." Panida greeted us in fluent Russian. However, her Chinese accent could be heard, making the language sound distorted. "Will you not sit down and have tea with us?"

"I would love to, however I'm afraid I have to use the ladies room. Do you understand?" I questioned in Russian.

She nodded and led me to the bathroom. "I had beans, so I might be awhile." I faked a blush and Panida nodded knowingly.

As soon as she had left I snuck out of the room and into another. I spotted a painted wood sculpture of the Buddhist god Jizo. Jizo's chest was mostly brown and partially pale. He was dressed in some sort of baggy purple, blue, pink, yellow, and green robe. A skirt of some kind covered his legs in the same sculpted design His feet and hands were pink. He was standing on some stand on top of another smaller stand. I took a clay figure and smashed it onto Jizo. I cringed as I did this. I knew they were collectors as well, but in Japanese culture, clay figures were placed on burial grounds. It was weird thinking about how this could have been on someone's grave. Flowers were placed on top of dressers and nightstands. The flowers were in beautiful arrangements and I could see silk embroidery around the room. With a loud crashing sound the clay figure broke open and the Jizo sculpture chipped slightly. I felt inside the clay horse, but felt nothing. I cursed knowing that people would have heard that noise. Dixon had been so sure it would have been in the horse. It was then when I noticed a hole in one of the pieces of the hors that didn't look as if it had come from the impact of hitting Jizo.

I knew Sark had been here. I wondered if he would give me the artifact to take back with me. I opened a window and then hurried out of the room back into the bathroom as I heard everyone rush into the room I was just in. I ran into the room where I had left Weiss and found him there waiting for me.

"Let's go." I told him in an urgent whisper. "It's not here, Sark must have it."

"I smoothed out my outfit and walked over to Panida whispering to her that we had to leave. We had just let there house when a voice spoke just above a whisper in English with a slight French accent.

"Leaving so soon Cheriè?" a man asked stepping out intro the light.

I recognized him at once to be Mr. Checkov.

"But you're… you're supposed to be Russian." I insisted.

"And you're not supposed to be wrecking my house. So, we're not all what we appear to be." Checkov told me, walking closer.

I began to reach for my gun when I realized that although I had it with me. The only place I could fit it was strapped to my thigh and it would be not only awkward, but weird and almost impossible to reach it fast enough thanks to my traditional Japanese outfit.

Weiss drew his gun, aiming in at Yevgeny. However, Checkov was planning on this and pulled out his gun first, nipping Weiss in the shoulder. The blow form the impact, knocked him off his feet. Checkov pulled a punch which thanks to the outfit I could not block. He sent a left jab in which I ducked. I backed up some before I could put some strength behind my left hook, knocking his weapon away from him. I then attempted to elbow his jaw, but the blow was much slower than I wanted it to be. He ducked and then slipped my next punch. I took this time to pull up the outfit and do a back flip, so I was safely out of his range. I ripped off the sash to gain more comfort in fighting freely and ran for the gun. It was then that I noticed Weiss behind Checkov and then a right cross to the back of his head. Checkov crumbled to the ground.

I ran over to Weiss, as I watched him, grabbing his shoulder.

"Are you all right?" I asked.

I then heard someone suck in their breath. "What's going on here?" a familiar voice asked in Russian.

I turned around. "Panida."

"What did you do to him?" she questioned angrily.

"Panida, your husband, he had something that we need…" I trailed off spotting Sark in the bushes. "Come with me."

Panida, dressed in a similar outfit to me, took a fighting stance. "Back off b" she yelled in fluent Russian.

I glanced over to where Weiss was, when I noticed him walking over to a van.

_Dixon sent backup?_ I thought angrily. _The least he could have done was told us._

I watched as Panida moved effortlessly in the outfit and right cross and then a straight right to knock me off my feet. I didn't know if I was allowed to harm her so instead I stepped on her foot and jabbed her with my elbow. I was going to use my shoulder to knock her off her feet, when she flipped me onto the ground. I ground kicking off the sandals and socks. She laughed saying something in fluent Mandarin. She did laughed going a standard back tuck as she took a fighting stance. She ushered for me to come to her as she smiled. She lowered her height a little as she extended out her arms. I walked hesitantly over to her, gun in hand. I moved to nip her shoulder and as she cringed I winced and shot her foot. I didn't mean to cause her too much harm, just to prevent her from attacking me. This didn't last long, her foot shot off to knock me to the ground. She shouted something in Chinese and leapt into the air. I jumped off the ground, throwing the gun to the ground. I did a roundhouse which threw her against a tree. She crumpled to the ground and was back on her feet quickly. She stretched her back and then moved slowly to me. But, when I moved to fight her, she leapt up into the air and onto the tree. She moved around in the trees as she prepared to jump. As I watched her descent I turned my body a little and kicked her, sending her flying to the ground. I ripped off part of my outfit and started flipping it as if I were going to rattail her. She jumped off the ground and pounced on me, her arms around my neck. I tried to get her off of me, but her grip was deadly. I heard the bushes move and soon Sark had her off of me. I used the piece of material I had in my heads to hit her with it before I tied her up.

"I buried the artifact 5 feet from where we're standing." Sark told me, motioning to the CIA van that was arriving.

"So, you forgive me?" I asked.

I saw Weiss run towards us.

I smiled, grabbing Sark's head and pulling it closer in a kiss.

"You better get out of here." Weiss warned Sark.

Sark looked past me to the van. "I don't run from things." he answered, smirking.

From the van Vaughn emerged wearing a Comm. link.

"Make it look good." Sark demanded.

I grabbed the gun and pointed it at Sark. Weiss walked over to my side. "Where is the artifact, _Sark_?" I demanded, pressing the gun to his temple.

He smirked, just staring at me. "Where do you think it is?"

"Give us the artifact Sark." Vaughn joined in.

Sark thought for a moment. "I don't think so."

"Shoot him Bristow. We were given orders that if somebody didn't cooperate that we could take our own action to get the artifact It is very important to us. Shoot him Agent Bristow." Dixon yelled into my Comm. link.

I gulped, my finger pulling back the hammer.

"Shoot him agent Bristow. Shoot him, now!" Dixon demanded.

I stared into Sark's eyes and I knew that he would forgive me for shooting him.

"What are you doing, Syd, shoot him!" Vaughn commanded.

**A/N:** Comment? No review, no update; as simple as that.


	6. Recovery

**Disclaimer:** I can only dream of owning Alias!

**A/N:** Sorry for the later update. : (

**Chapter 6- Recovery**

---Sydney's POV---

"My patience is running low, tell us where it is and maybe, just maybe I wont kill you." I warned him. After a moment of silence I shot Sark's arm. I watched as Sark's hand moved to cover the wound. "Warning shot. Where is the artifact?"

The gun moved back towards his temple. I pulled back the hammer, letting out a silent sigh.

"What's the matter? Can't use your hoity-toity Intel to find it out yourselves?" Sark asked, cocking an eyebrow.

"Sark…" I warned, pushing the gun harder against his temple.

"What's in it for me?" Sark asked.

"You get to live and we get to not waste our time looking for it, where is it?" I demanded.

Sark looked as if he were about to say something else when I continued.

"And we'll pretend we didn't see you here, understand?" I suggested.

"5 feet to your right." he answered, backing away. "But just in case…"  
He grabbed my throat and I dropped the gun into his hands in which he promptly pressed into my temple. "I think you guys know the drill, I get to drive out of here alive and you get your agent… alive."

"Deal." Vaughn answered as Sark backed away to his car with the gun still pressed to my temple. I looked behind us and spotted a Viper hidden in the bushes. Sark moved to open the car door, and Vaughn took his chance. He shot Sark in his left leg, and I knew I had to keep up appearances. I gave a spin kick to his head and watched Sark stumble back. With his leg hurt he almost lost his balance. Vaughn and Weiss were headed our way to interrupt the fight. I kicked Sark in the stomach and then began kicking swift short kicks that I knew he could easily block with his arms. I heard Sark mutter "sorry for this" and before I knew what was happening I felt him pick me up and throw me against the car. I felt my head do some imitation of backlash as I slumped to the ground. I watched as Sark was about to get in the car, but Weiss grabbed him and threw him towards the bushes. Then with more energy then I had ever, and I do mean that, seen in him I watched him kick Sark and then Vaughn cuffed him. I couldn't see from where he was, but he must have gotten away because I saw Vaughn and Weiss running into the bushes. As I finally got the strength to investigate the fight, some CIA agent was helping me back to the van. Upon entering the van I blacked out and woke up what appeared to be the next day.

I opened my eyes and recognized the ceiling of the same hospital I had woken up and realized that my life had been turned upside down. It hurt a bit to move my neck and head, so I decided to sit up. Big mistake. I cried out in pain as I began to sit up, so instead I fell back to the bed where I could feel a pain in my back. I knew Sark had held back, so as not to do much damage, so why then did it hurt so bad? The room had a chilly feeling to it, and I wasn't quite sure if that was from the temperature of the room or if it was because I felt something was wrong. The pain in my back would not go away and any position that I laid in. Not to mention that my throat was dry and felt weird. I heard a door opened and from the proximity of it I concluded that it was the door to my room.

"Good morning Agent Bristow. How are you feeling?" a guy who I presumed to be a doctor asked.

"Like crap…" I muttered.

"Well, the good news is that your doing better than you have in days." the doctor smiled.

"Days?" I asked confused.

"Yes Miss Bristow you've been here for 3 days. You vomited the first day, almost drowned in your own vomit. We had to stick tubes down your throat to clean it up and we kept it in there until last night when we concluded that you would not vomit again. You had Gastroenteritis, it's an inflammation of the digestive tract caused by infection or food poisoning. You have back pain caused from your run in with that Mr. Sark guy, which thanks to the surgery should be better in a few days. You also had a whiplash-type injury which is why you are wearing a supportive collar. It will take about 2 weeks to heal. We'd like to keep you longer, but after 2 weeks if you feel the need, you can get checked out of the hospital. Your father and your husband wish to see you now. Keeping your maiden name, I respect that."

With that the doctor left the room and after a few minutes I heard the door open again. I shivered slightly at the cold temperature and tried to wonder who would pose as my husband and why.

"Morning Sydney," I heard my father greet me. I finally saw him, once he came within 2 feet of me. He badly needed a shave and his hair was messy and out of place. "I, uh, wanted to be here when you woke up, didn't want you to start attacking the doctors thinking that you had lost _another_ 2 years of your life."

I smiled at what must have been one of the first times I had ever heard my dad attempt to comfort me.

"Hey" I heard a voice greet me.

"Hey Vaughn." I greeted trying to keep smiling so as to not worry them. "Why did you pose as my husband?"

I watched Vaughn glance down at the floor and then look up at me smiling. "Well, because they were only letting family members in until you woke up, until you could voice who you wanted to visit and who you didn't want them to let it. And we, we have so much history together, I didn't think you'd mind."

I watched my father send deadly glares to Vaughn, apparently he hadn't been with Vaughn when he had given his relation to me.

I didn't feel like starting an argument, I felt worn out and drain emotionally as well, so again I bore that smile. A forced smile as I muttered, "don't worry about it."

"Are you ok, Sydney?" Jack asked, worry in his voice.

"I just feel so drained…" I answered.

"Well, I'll leave you two to talk, I've got the first rendezvous of many with our _favorite_ British guy." Vaughn informed us. "Get better, Syd."

Vaughn moved as if to kiss the top of my forehead, but Jack's glare scared him away. He smile, waving good bye as he left the room.

"Dad, what's going on?" I asked him, hoping he had all the answers.

"Did they, did they show you yet?" Jack avoided the questioning.

"Show me what? Dad what's going on?" I pleaded.

"You have a small scar going down your back." my father informed me.

I realized that this must have been why my back hurt so much, but I knew from his face that something was up. "Besides that. What's happened… since…"

"We captured Sark and sent you to the hospital where you underwent immediate surgery. Weiss had surgery on his shoulder, so we're keeping him out of the field for a little while. We're trying to get any information that we can off Sark because they tell us, that we can't retain him, not for the reasons we want to. Some kind of technicality for the law, you don't need to know all the details. Anyways they say we can only proceed if we find out that he has some connection to through holding you hostage. They say that unless we find some kind of loophole we can only charge him with holding you hostage, which will only get him a few years in prison and possibly a restraining order from you. If we're lucky he could get sort of… banished from the United States." Jack informed me.

"Who's they?" I asked, curiously.

"CIA lawyers. Anyways, Sark's only hope is that technicality and even still there's chance that more technicalities could arise and prevent him from doing any time even without a pardon. We've got Marshall investigating everything from that night, but we were all hoping that once you woke you could help us find a loophole to grill him for every terrorist act he participated in. So, while we're busy investigating that mission, the Covenant could be busy recovering more artifacts. See the problem?" Jack asked.

"Yeah, jeez, even when I'm recovering I have to work. Guess I should be used to it." I mumbled.

"Oh by the way, Seamus said that you two had a great time. I think it'll be great for you to be distracted with something that makes you happy."

I smiled a genuine smile, remembering how much fun I had had with thoughts of the CIA, in the back of my mind. "Yeah, we did."

"So, I suppose, you'll be seeing him again?" my dad presumed.

"Dad," I persisted.

"Sydney, you've lost so much, you deserve to be happy." he added sincerely.

I dropped the subject knowing that there would be no reasonable excuse I could tell my dad, not even the truth.

"It's just, every time I'm happy, it always goes away." I responded, my eyes glazed over and far away remembering all the failed relationships that had been ruined by this line of work.

"Look, you need to get some sleep, we'll talk later. Bye." Jack told me, hugging me the best he could and leaving the room.

I wasn't sure if it was natural or because of the drugs they gave me, but for the next few days I drifted in and out of consciousness.

When I woke next, the pain in my back was gone. My neck, still hurt, but I knew what the reason was and knew it wouldn't be permanent. I could move me neck sideways now, although I couldn't move it up and down. I glanced to my right and noticed a fresh bouquet of red roses on the table with what appeared to be a card, tucked neatly inside of it. I heard the door open and from the footsteps, which I could now recognize Weiss, my dad, Vaughn and the doctor by, I could tell it was the doctor.

"Good morning Dr. Leonard." I greeted cheerfully, knowing that if I showed any signs of annoyance that it would be mistaken for depression and I would be in this hospital for even longer.

"Good morning, Miss Bristow. Today, we're going to start your rehab. Now, it shouldn't be too hard, because your injuries weren't all that bad, but you still need to make sure all your muscles are working properly and there's nothing wrong with your veins or arteries or your back. You know, things like that. Now, if you'd please sit up." Dr. Leonard instructed.

I stretched out my hands and placed them upon the bed, grabbing the bars to prevent me from falling out of my bed, being careful not to move my neck too much. I locked my grip on it and pulled my body forward.

"Good, now can you carefully climb out of the bed?" the doctor asked, as he pushed the bars down, past the bed.

I swung my legs over the bed, and jumped down.

"Good, let us go."

And with that I started my recovery.

---2 weeks later---

I had stayed in the hospital a few days longer then I needed to, because Dr. Leonard had informed me that they needed to keep and eye on how my back and neck was doing. Eventually though, I was allowed to check out. As long as someone came to pick me up. The CIA promised I would not go back into the field for awhile, just as a precaution, but I knew I would be on the field within no time. Weiss had promised to come pick me up in 5 minutes. The red roses brought in for me had died, apparently no one around here felt the need to take care of a plant. I had no clothes to pack except the ones I had come in, which of course had been the ripped Japanese outfit I had worn what seemed like age ago, so yesterday, dad had brought me some jeans and a long sleeved baby blue t-shirt with frills at the bottom of the sleeve, with a hairbrush and a scrunchy. Not usually my style, but it had been a birthday present and I'd be glad to get out of this ugly hospital gown. When I finished dressing, I sat on my bed and began brushing my hair. There were no mirrors in my room, most likely it was like that in every room so that patients would not have emotional scars from their reactions at the way they looked while they recovered. It didn't matter, I had been brushing my hair so long, I knew I could brush it just as well without a mirror. I pulled it back and twisted on my scrunchy. I turned to the door as I heard a knock and I watched the doctor come in.

"How my favorite patient?" he asked, holding something behind his back.

I smiled, thinking he said this to every patient. "I'm just glad to be leaving this place." Even as I said that I glanced around the room, remembering where everything thing was, maybe for later use, I didn't know why, truthfully.

"Hey, don't say that, I'll be staying here for a long time, this place, it has great qualities." he defended.

"Like what?" I asked, shivering slightly, wishing my dad had brought me a sweater or something.

"We have a place to eat, and, a place to sleep, computers, bathtubs, a sink, you know, you could here. It's got everything you need." he pointed out.

"Is that what they told you to get you to come work here?" I laughed. "Still, doesn't it get depressing, just watching all these people get hurt, and if someone does stay long enough for you to become attached to them, they just eventually leave or die. I mean, seriously."

"Yeah, if you look at it that way. But think about this, everyday, I get to meet so many different people with so many different life stories and it's just great. It really livens up my life. Like soy sauce." Dr. Leonard pointed out.

"So, you're called me soy sauce. Thanks." I laughed.

"But, are you sure you want to leave so soon? I mean who says you've healed properly? Do you even want to?" he asked.

"There is noting I want more than to leave this hospital and never look back. I've spent so much time here already." I persisted.

"Are you sure, I mean maybe you don't know what you want? Maybe you've been working so hard to fight what you want that you're blinded by it now." he persisted. I glanced down as I felt his hand move to my thigh and begin stroking it. "So, the real question is, not if you want to go, but why you want to stay and how hard is Sydney willing to work to stay here and enjoy the company-"

I rolled my eyes. I moved quickly to grip his wrist and fling him to the floor. "Listen, Dr. Stud muffin, I'm not interested, so hand's off." I sighed as I walked out of the door and spotted Weiss in the waiting room.

"Hey, Syd what's up?" he greeted.

"Hey Weiss, oh, I just got hit on by some doctor who's old enough to be my dad." I informed him.

"Nice, so now you're attracting old men. Did you maybe, change perfume or something?" he laughed.

"Shut up." I laughed. "Let's just get out of here, I really want some Dominoes."

"And I'm paying?" he asked.

"Yep." I answered as we walked out of the hospital after signing the release form.

---Unknown POV---  
I watched as they exited the hospital and pushed the speed dial.

"Yes, Miss Bristow and Agent Weiss just left the hospital." I spoke into the phone.

**A/N:** Comments? No review, no update; as simple as that.


	7. Knocking on the devil’s door

**Disclaimer:** I can only dream of owning Alias!  
**A/N:** Sorry for the later update. : (

Previously on The not-so-simple scandals of a rose:

"Yes, Miss Bristow and Agent Weiss just left the hospital." I spoke into the phone.

**Chapter 7- Knocking on the devil's door **

_"Knock, knock, knock on the devil's door. Do not invite him over for dinner, his beasts will come for more." -- Andromeda, episode name, "Abridging the devil's divide." _

---Unknown POV---  
"Good, Mr. Sark will be pleased." a voice answered, severing the connection. 

---Sydney's POV---  
I left sleep overcome me as Weiss drove me to meet up with Vaughn. He was questioning Sark and I needed, it seemed, to be questioned later, to make sure Sark wasn't lying. After, of course, walking through security and getting our clearance.

"I thought we were going to get pizza?" i asked.

"Change of plans." Weiss answered.

"I should have known, when you agreed to paying for the pizza." i laughed.

"Welcome back, Sydney." Jack greeted.

I hugged my dad, smiling. "Yeah, it wont feel normal until I see someone threatening, or fighting or interrogating someone."

"You miss it?" Jack asked.

"I think I kinda do. That's weird." I admitted. "well, I'm off to find Vaughn and Sark." 

"That's something I never thought I'd hear you say." Weiss called form behind me, as I gave the guard my ID card, and waited for Weiss to hand over his.

"Welcome Agent Bristow and Agent Weiss." the guard, greeted, handing up back our IDs.

"Hello to you too." I greeted and Weiss nodded to the guard. We awaited the familiar sound of the gate being lifted. After it had finished we walked inside and awaited the sound of the gate behind us closing and the gate in front of us opening. When we finally reached the room, we found Vaughn slamming his fist down into a table. There were 2 white chairs in the room and a white table. Sark sat, calmly behind the table with Vaughn freaking out.

"Hello Vaughn." I greeted. He turned around, smiling.

"Hey Syd, hey Weiss." he greeted.

"Hey Vaughn, can I have a few moments alone with Sark, I wanna thank him for giving me yet another scar." I smiled at Vaughn.

"I'll can give you 5 minutes with the cameras down, but no more. Have fun." Vaughn whispered, walking away, pulling Weiss with him, whispering to him.

---Sark's POV---  
I scanned her face, searching for a hint of anger. "I didn't realize I'd thrown you so hard." I revealed.

I watched her push a stray strand of her hair behind her ear, walking towards me. "It's ok. I am human, we get hurt. I've healed." 

"You said something about a scar?" I questioned.

She gave a short laugh. "It' not the first I've gotten in this job, and it wont be the last. It's just a scratch. You on the other hand, look like you refused to hand over your lunch money."

I laughed, knowing that I looked terrible. I had a black and swollen eye, a jaw that felt like it was broken, my nose was definitely broken, my face was turning black and blue, my hair was disheveled, my eyebrows were caked with blood, and my wife beater was stained with blood. "Thanks."

---Sydney's POV---  
I smiled sitting on top of his lap, running my hand through his hair. "What'd he do to you?"

"Same thing he did last time." he answered, wrapping an arm around my waist.

"But, I thought the actual interrogation wasn't until…" I trailed off, understanding.

"Yeah, well he blamed it on my failure to cooperate, and everyone else just looked the other way." he informed me. "I've had worse."

---Sark's POV---  
"I'll get you out of he-" Sydney began. I watched her face contort slightly, attempting the hide the pain. Apparently I had found the scar.

"Let me see." I demanded, softly.

She looked as if she were going to object, but turned around, lifting her shirt so that I could see the scar. It was still a maroon color, standing out against her crème colored skin. She was pale as if she had been inside for quite awhile. She replaced her shirt, and turned around.

"Syd-" I began.

"Sark, drop it." she warned.

"That's going to scar bad. Really bad." I commented.

"I'll live with it. Hey, what doesn't kill you, makes you stronger. We gotta find a way to get you out of here." she persisted, changing the subject.

"I," I started to persist, before dropping the subject. "I'll be fine."

"Okay, all you have to do, is knock me unconscious, or at least that's what they think and escape." she suggested.

I thought it over in my head, but every scenario, ended with me building, shot and killed. "that could work, or… I stick it out."

"Sark, if stay here, they'll make sure you burn. You wont have a chance." she persisted.

I exhaled, "fine." I ran my hand through her hair, mirroring what she had done to me.

Sydney stood up, crossing her arms. "Okay, our time's almost up. Hit me."

I stared at her. "I cant just…"

"Hit me!" she yelled.

"Sydney-" I started and saw the door open. Just then I punched her, sending her falling to the ground.

"Freeze!" Vaughn yelled.

"You'd think you'd know better than to assault an agent while we have you in custody." Jack commented, walking up to me, his gun trained on my head.

"Knock, knock, knock on the devil's door…" I whispered.

**A/N:** Questions? Comments? No review; no update, as simple as that.


	8. Emergency Escape

**Disclaimer:** I can only dream of owning Alias!  
**A/N:** Sorry for the late update.

**A/N2:** He was saying it because by going along with Syd's plan he was "inviting the devil over for dinner"/asking for trouble.

**Chapter 8-Emergency escape **

---Dr. Leonard's POV---  
"Wait a second…" I murmured going over Miss Bristow's lab reports. A new one that had been sent in about a test she had taken the day before she had left the hospital. It had appeared normal the first time I had looked at it, but going back over, I kept telling myself that there was something there. I hurried out of the room, grabbing the first nurse I saw. "Excuse me, could you bring me the last video feed on examination 45678474747 please?"

"Of course Dr. Leonard, right away." she smiled hurrying off to go find it. 

"Unless I'm mistaken…" I whispered. I walked back inside to scrutinize the pictures in the meantime.

---Sark's POV---  
I stood there, unsure of what to do when I spotted something in Sydney's pocket. I grabbed it, pressing the button, and covering my nose and mouth simultaneously as the other agents fell to the floor. I dragged Sydney to the table and looked for an opening in the vent.

---Dr. Leonard's POV---  
I stared at the pictures and then riffled through Miss Bristow's life history. 

"Here you go Dr. Leonard." the nurse informed me, handing over the tape.

"Thank you so much, I'll call for you when I'm done with it." I thanked her, popping in the video. I watched as the video displayed inner damage done to Sydney and I stopped it when it came to her uterus. I raised the volume and played it again.

"There it is." I yelled, I rewinded it and played it again. I heard the sound again. I ran outside and told the same nurse to page the nearest doctor. I waited awhile, sitting in a chair right outside the room I had been in and spotted him running towards me. "Come with me."

He walked in behind me as I entered the room. I rose the volume again and instructed him to listen and tell me what he thought it was.

"It could be an irregular heartbeat. We've had some that sounded just like that. Most likely from the sound of it, and since she is very healthy, it's probably…" the other doctor began.

"I know, I think it's the latter. But I need to get her back in here for some more tests. We can't be positive." I persisted. "Either way, it is a major issue. See if we can bring her back in right now."

"Okay." I guy agreed, walking out of the room.

---Sark's POV---  
I struggled to pull Sydney through the vent without hurting her, making any noise, or taking too long. It wasn't as easy as it seemed. I reached an exit and kicked it open, jumping down onto the ground below me, before I reached up to pull Sydney out. We were outside now, I had used an emergency escape exit in case of a fire or if it got attacked and there was no other way, also it was used as a secret means to get help in an emergency. I grabbed Sydney, hurrying around the corner, an idea in my mind.

---Dixon's POV---  
"No!" I yelled ."We'll track her down using the former Sloane recruits that we grabbed when we took their operation down while Sydney was in the hospital. Once they've helped us, that will make up for it since most only did minor if any things, and they can go back to their normal life without having to remember anything, in fact we'll give them a memory of going away to camp or something."

"Sir," a guy began, addressing me. "There's a call for you regarding Agent Bristow's health, and-"

"One thing at a time." I mumbled, picking up the call. "Hello? Hello Dr. Leonard, and what is the reason you need to see my agent this moment? Don't give me that patient confidentiality crap! Fine!" Dixon covered the mouth piece and asked, "Where's Bristow."

"You see, that's the other thing, Sark took her after he knocked out Agents Bristow, Weiss and Vaughn." the guy continued.

"Why didn't you tell me this in the first place?" I demanded to know.

"Well, you see sir…" he began to explain.

"Stop wasting time, send those recruits after her now!" I yelled annoyed.

"Yes, sir." he acknowledged.

---Sark's POV---  
I hurried into the back of a wheelchair store and grabbed the first one I saw. I then preceded to wheel her out of the store, covering her up with a blanket. I groaned, hearing the familiar sound of Sydney's phone. I watched Sydney's head move and I knew she was up. She pulled out her phone, staring at it and then when she noticed the caller she stood up and turned to face me, her eyes wide. "I gotta go."

I watched her run behind some building, hurrying out of sight.

**A/N:** Sorry for the short update, but I promise another update will be up shortly.


	9. Irregular heart beat

Disclaimer: I can only dream on owning Alias!  
A/N: Wonders never cease as the truth unfolds….

**Chapter 9 Irregular heart beat **

---Sydney's POV---  
I called for a taxi and had them drive me to the hospital. I handed him extra money, telling him to keep the change. I hurried past the nurses, past their screaming at me to sign in. I skidded to a stop at the information desk and asked for Dr. Leonard.

"And you are?" a brunette nurse who looked like she was 25 asked me.

"Sydney Bristow." I breathed out.

"Okay, Agent Bristow, please come with me, he's expecting you." she grabbed a clipboard room the bottom shelf and began writing as she walked down a hallway to an elevator. She had on some sort of nurse's outfit with the ugliest white shoes I had ever seen, accompanied by white stockings and a white nurse's hat. She pressed a number and soon after we were making our way up. 

"Did he tell you anything about why you're here?" she questioned filling out a form, but every time I tried to peer over her shoulder to read it, she turned away.

"No." I answered truthfully.

"Hmm, interesting." she commented.

We had the ever familiar elevator music to fill up the empty silence and an uncanny feeling in the elevator.

I could tell that the nurse had been at the hospital a long time when after awhile she began to hum along with the elevator music. I had never been so happy to walk out of an elevator in my life. Still, the nurse had to accompany me to the room. She maneuvered us past rooms with people screaming in there, and others with people crying. I wondered where I was, but just as I was about to ask, she pushed open a door and ushered me inside. "He'll be with you shortly." she promised and left the room.

I sat down on the patient bed (the kind you sit on when you go for checkups), shivering at the cold temperature. I wondered now if I should have brought Sark with me. I must have been sitting there for ten minutes when I decided that was it, my hand was on the doorknob and I felt it turning except I wasn't the one turning it.

"Nice to see you again Agent Bristow." Dr. Leonard greeted. "Would you please take a seat?"

I sat back down, crossing my legs afterwards.

"So that we start off with a clean and trustworthy slate, I'd like to apologize for my inappropriate behavior in our last meeting. You can be assured that wont happen again, however if you feel the need to get a new doctor, one will be appointed to you." he spoke as if he had memorized what he was saying.

"A-a-a- a new doctor? I thought you told me I didn't need to come back unless I felt the need to? I feel perfectly fine." I persisted.

"But, that's the thing, while we were going over your latest test results we spotted something." he began.

"You- you spotted something?" I echoed in a nervous voice.

"No, need to be nervous, it's actually quite common. We feared that you might have an irregular heartbeat, but it appears my first conclusion was right. There were two heartbeats." after finishing his sentence Dr. Leonard smiled.

"Why do I have two heartbeats? What does that mean?" I asked, my mind already forming complex reasons that I was blind to the most obvious.

"It's means that you'll be expecting." he translated.

"Expecting?" I began. I could tell form the look on his face he didn't think I knew what that meant. "No, I can't be expecting. God, do you have any clue what this means?"

"Understandable, Agent Bristow, in this line of work mothers often fear for their children's lives. We'll set you up with a psychiatrist who will help you get through it." Dr. Leonard tried to calm me.

"A shrink?" I echoed angrily.

"Agent Bristow, we do not think that you are crazy if that's what you're thinking." he defended.

I tuned out everything else he said as I tried to understand what was going on and what was best.

_Pregnant, I can't be pregnant? Never in my child's life will they be safe. They'll have enemy's on both sides, and they only way to protect them will be to go in hiding. But, I can't do that. I can't just tote them along on some shell of a life. They'll always resent me for it. I can't leave them with Sark, they'll be killed or worse. I definitely can't send them off by mom and I can't, I can't, please god help me decide what to do. _  
I wiped a tear away from my eye and stood up. "I've got some talking and thinking to do." I told him, getting up and walking to the door.

"Are you sure you don't want to go through the procedures, don't you want to see what you're baby looks like?" Dr. Leonard asked.

"Not until I make up my mind." I replied.  
I was about to close the door behind me when I heard Dr. Leonard's voice cry out, "It's a girl. Just thought you'd like to know."

I exhaled sharply and walked away, intent on finding my dad. I pulled out my phone, remembering an old code from back when I was growing up. I just hoped my dad still remembered it. I texted onto his phone, "Dad, Midnight Madness was fun. You were right."

Within a few minutes I was back out into the fresh air and staring into the sky, dialing the number of a different taxi service to come pick me up, and praying that my dad remembered the code.

A/N: I know, another short chapter, but the story is ending soon, the next chapter is the last.


	10. The Reason

**Disclaimer:** I can only dream on owning Alias  
**A.N:** Oh btw, it's because of Project Christmas that her baby wasn't injured. And the shocks keep coming…

**Chapter 10-The reason**

---Sydney's POV---  
I stood there at the pier waiting for dad to come, after I had stopped off by a rental car place and rented a car. Within a few minutes I saw his car pull up and watched him walk towards me after closing his door.

"Nice to see you again, Sydney." he greeted me.

---A former Sloane recruit POV---  
I threw my Comm. Link on the ground crushing it with the heel of my toe. I hurried to the person beside repeating this action over and over until all our comm. Links had been destroyed.

"Don't you see?" I panted, out of breath. "This is our chance. To be rid of this. Let's just go home."

"Wont they track us down?" a guy asked.

"not if we use what they supplied us with against them." I persisted.

"She's right, we do have a chance." another girl chimed in.

"Okay let's go." I replied, smiling.

---Dixon's POV---  
"Sir, the recruits are changing direction." a man informed me.

"Are they readjusting their alliance?" I questioned, putting the caller on hold.

"No way to tell sir." he replied.

"We cant take the chance." I began. I sighed, thinking it over in my head. "Shut them down."

"Okay sir." with that he left the room.

---Sydney's POV---

"Thanks, but I'm here for a reason. I need to know, do you wish that mom, do you wish she had just had an abortion. It would have made things easier." I questioned.

"Not really. It made me feel like there was at least some part of her I could hold onto. What's this about?" he asked.

"Dad, I-I- I'm pregnant." I blurted out.

"What? You just started seeing Seamus!" he yelled. "Are you going to get married."

"I don't, I don't know if he wants to, I don't even know how we're going to work this out." I admitted.

"Well you better think of something! You know what, you don't need the stress right now, too much stress can make you loose the baby, I'll, I'll go talk to him. Believe me, you two _will_ be getting married." and with that he turned around and headed for his car. It didn't matter, because I already had my answer.

_It made me feel like there was at least some part of her I could hold onto. _I pulled out my phone and dialed Sark's number.

---Recruits POV---  
We had started what we had titled as our "Freedom walk" when suddenly our new group leader exploded. Screams rang out from our crowd as we ran in different directions as if that's would protect us. The screams died down however as the number of survivors decreased.

---Sydney's POV---

"Hello?" he greeted.

"We gotta talk. Meet me at the pier, 30 minutes." with that I hung up the phone and sat down, deciding that if I was going to change my mind that I would do it within that 30 minutes.

When the 30 minutes had gone by and I watched Sark walk over to me I realized that this whole mess had all started with one simple rose. It should have come with a warning sign, "Warning may screw up your life even more."

Sark looked like he had put on some sort of conceals to hide the bruises and washed and combed his hair. His eyes were covered by dark sunglasses and he was wearing his most famous signature, his suit.

"Hey Bristow" he greeted in a slow cautious tone of voice.

"Hello Sark." I greeted in a flat voice.

He searched my eyes for the reason why we were here, but I gave him none.

"You wont always be around…" I began in a soft whisper.

"What?" he asked confused.

"It's the reason…" I continued.

---Sark's POV---  
"I don't know what reason you're talking about, but I have to tell you something. I've decided…" I started.  
I watched her turn around, attempting to hide something. I could hear her murmuring over and over, "He wont be there. He wont."

"Is it because I sent you to the hospital?" I guessed. "What is this? What does this all mean?"

"you wont be there." she answered.

"What does that mean 'I wont be there'?" I questioned.

"It means… I'm getting an abortion." she began, whirling around to face me.

"What? No. You can't, listen to me, if you don't want this baby then give it to me. Please, I'll take care of it. And, and…" I continued. I had no clue what she was talking about, but I didn't want to lose it. _She cant take away my baby, not when I was going to change. It's the only thing we have to show for our love. She cant take away the only family I have._

"You cant change my mind." she told me as if she could read my mind. "This baby has no place here, it cant have a place here. It's better off going through the abortion. At least that way it'll be with…"

I proceeded to walk up to her and begin shaking her. "You can't get an abortion. Just leave the baby with me and you'll never hear about it again. Give it a chance. If you change your mind and don't wanna get an abortion, but still don't wanna give me the baby, at least promise me wrinkle face wont end raising our child."

"Goodbye." she told me, tears forming in her eyes as she walked towards her car and drove way.

"But you're my reason…" I murmured

_I've found a reason for me  
To change who I used to be  
A reason to start over new  
And the reason is you  
--Hoobanstank (sp?), The reason_

**El Fin/ The End **

**A/N:** Yep, that's the end. In case you were wondering, yes, there is a sequel called, "Chasing Destiny."


End file.
